


Bacon Bits

by writing_regen



Series: If The Horror Could Speak [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Not Beta Read, So very much, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, We Die Like Men, gotta get used to living again, gotta remember you gotta... do things again, i love them, its not easy, just some good ole brotherly fluff, like eat, smh ben, so much, takes place after they travel back in time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-12-25 13:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_regen/pseuds/writing_regen
Summary: That peace was broken by a loud grumble emanating from Ben’s stomach and he winced, curling in a little closer to himself. A voice in his head that was most definitely not his own thank you very much hissed something about feeding, and Ben hissed right back. It was hungry for something other than food that he wasn’t willing to provide anytime soon.Klaus snorted at the noise and Ben’s face colored slightly as the other swiveled to face him, “Jesus, Boo-Boo, when was the last time you ate? Last week?”





	Bacon Bits

**Author's Note:**

> i was sad yesterday so i wrote mindless fluff of my faves instead of continuing my angst au/headcanon like i was supposed to

Safe to say, being alive again was a lot to get used to. Of course Ben was overjoyed to be able to speak to his siblings directly again and actually experience life with them, even if it meant he had to be thirteen again. But there was a lot of little things habits he'd taken for granted, that he’d lost in the nearly two decades he hadn’t been corporeal.

He’d never again take for granted knowing to do something on instinct.

Now would be a perfect example.

He still relished in the quiet, calm moments that were few and far between in the Academy. It sparked a strong feeling of deja vu, sitting curled in Klaus’s room on the bed reading something while Klaus experimented with his hair or makeup in the mirror during their hour of free time each day. The two were barely ever apart, even now. It was a turbulent time, and being one another’s only consistent company for so long forged a bond they took full advantage of while learning to live in the Academy once again. Still, it was one of the few positive memories he had of the home and not one he planned to let die, being given a second chance.

It was always strange, to realize this was his second chance at life, when he’d never truly left in the first place.

The only sound in the room to break his introspection was the occasional sound of a page turning, and Klaus humming softly under his breath as he sat at the mirror, trying to see how much he could get away with when it came to eyeshadow.

That peace was broken by a loud grumble emanating from Ben’s stomach and he winced, curling in a little closer to himself. A voice in his head that was _most definitely not his own thank you very much,_ hissed something about feeding, and Ben hissed right back. It was hungry for something other than food that he wasn’t willing to provide anytime soon.

Klaus snorted at the noise and Ben’s face colored slightly as the other swiveled to face him, “Jesus, Boo-Boo, when was the last time you ate? Last week?”

“First of all, that nickname doesn’t work anymore, and you know it. I’m not a -”

“You’ll always be my spirited buddy,”  
A half-hearted glare, “You’re insufferable,”

“I try. But seriously, don’t think I don’t notice you picking at meals. It may not look like it, but I’m a very protective big brother,” Klaus offered a shit-eating to top off the statement.  
“We’re the same age,”

“Answer the question, Hentai Master,”

Ben wrinkled his nose, resisting the urge to gag, “Gross! I’m vetoing that and erasing you saying that from my memory. Besides, I ate… ah, fuck,”  
“That tells me everything I need to know,”

“It does not,”

“It most certainly does, dear brother of mine. We have thirty minutes left in this block and I plan to use them to fatten you up,”

“I’m starting to feel suspiciously like Hansel and Gretel,”  
Klaus just winked.

It was… hard. Meal times in the Hargreeves household were very regimented. Same

time, every day, every day of the year, and they always knew what they would be eating.

It wasn’t that he forgot. Or… it wasn’t just that.

Ben was used to being a passive observer, watching meals from the sidelines, sometimes sitting at the table but never actually being able to take the step to eat.

After fifteen years that habit was a hard one to break some days.

More than that though, he was _physically_ not used to eating anymore. Food textures felt strange and everything settled oddly in his stomach like it wasn’t sure what it was doing there. Going from not eating for so long straight to the rich, calorie full meals they were fed to keep up their energy was certainly not doing him any favors on his path to reintegration.

“So whatcha cravin’, Benny?”

“I… don’t know.”

Klaus pulled them to a stop as they arrived in the kitchen and whirled around so he could face Ben. He frowned slightly when he noticed how distinctly uncomfortable Ben looked. After a short moment of thought, he pat the other on the shoulder and pushed him towards one of the seats.

“Sit, relax! Live a little. Let me handle this. I know exactly what that little tum-tum of yours needs,”

Ben huffed a little as he plopped into the nearest chair, watching Klaus through narrowed eyes, “Relish in it now. I won’t be shorter than you forever,”

“That’s what heels are for, you naive little boy,”

“Oh yeah, you can suffer that one alone. Don’t break your jaw again,”  
Klaus stuck his tongue out as he began looking through the drawers of the spacious kitchen, swaying his hips to a beat only he could hear, “That was one time, and it was Luther’s fault anyway,”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself,”

“Oh, you’re no fun,”

The kitchen was… peaceful for the next few minutes, and Ben closed his eyes, just listening to the little noises he could hear and running his fingertips over the smooth surface of the table.

It could only ever last so long.

Suddenly a plate clattered in front of him, followed by a very loud, very close, “Voila, bon appetit, made with love!” That nearly startled Ben out of his seat.

Opening his eyes, the sight of the plate in front of him made him laugh, covering his mouth with one hand to muffle the sound, placed in front of him was a bowl of mac n’ cheese with a sprinkle bacon bits on top (obviously microwaved by the continued beeping in the background).

It used to be their secret meal, something they could make in the middle of the night when neither could sleep and they just needed company, Klaus kept up the spirits that haunted his sights and Ben by the movement and thoughts of _whatever it was_ that resided under his skin.

“So what do you think? Up to your standards, chef?”  
Ben snorted and looked up at Klaus, a smile softening his features, “I guess we’ll just have to see,”  
And for the first time since his return, he sat and ate with that smile still there as Klaus launched into one of his wild stories, hands moving around the room.

And everything inside him was quiet.


End file.
